Rise of the Titans
by Dark-Titan
Summary: A story based on the idea, "Where did the Angels come from?" I'll answer this question later though... Chapter 1 Up! Updated Jan 26
1. Prelude

Disclaimer: Evangelion is copyright Gainax, Project Eva, and all other respective companies. This is a work of fan fiction, nonprofit, and so on. However, the Muses that will be used later on (as posted on my profile) are mine, and the various ideas that I'll be using in this story (Technologies, Concepts, Plot, etc.) also belong to me (I think, therefore I do. Right?), and if you wish to use any of it, you may ask for permission and chances are that as long as you ask me, I'll say "yes."

Author Note's (Please Read for Your Benefit): Also, I would like to state that this story is an Alternate Universe to Evangelion, and will loosely follow the Anime, with a few quotes and such from the Anime as well. Also before anyone bothers me with this, this story is not a romance, so I will not announce the pairings because they're going to be a surprise and will be loosely linked to the plot, since this will be more of an Action/Adventure and Sci-Fi. However, everyone will pretty much get a "soul mate", so to speak... I will stand firm on this because even throughout the entire series, Gainax didn't really have the time to develop the relationships between the pilots, and like them I won't focus on some of the relationships until later on in the story. In addition to that, several little details will be changed, such as the appearance of a few of the Angels, and a few other things, and I can assure you, there is a reason behind this. Finally, please review if you have to time to give me any ideas, suggestions, constructive criticism, and names for characters (and possibly descriptions) that sound interesting and are unique, but not overused.

Anyways, enjoy the story!

Rise of the Titans: Prelude: The Tale of an "Angel"

My story, so to speak, began about five years ago...

I was found frozen solid in a glacier on the continent that the Lilium call Antarctica. The ones that found me frequently referred to themselves as the "Katsuragi Expedition." Other things that I often heard were things that had to do with an organization called the U.N., and also a newer organization that was related to the U.N. called "Gehirn."

Even though I wasn't able to interact with the Lilium physically, I was able to communicate with them through their computers and machines. Some how I could understand what they were said to me, even though I'm not entirely sure how.

Two of the Lilium that I became well acquainted with was a scientist named Gendo Rokubungi, who was in charge of monitoring me, and a young girl named Misato who often came to visit me when her father was out working, which was quite often.

Gendo, when I first spoke with him, wasn't very interesting and in the beginning he wasn't very interested in me either. However, with time, we established a common ground of interest with science and technology, and in some cases even weaponry. Even though I knew the Lilium were quite primitive, they learned fast, and Gendo was no exception. We would sometimes talk for hours as I described a theory, and Gendo would write it down, and then I would explain to him how to apply it. As a result of our talks, biotechnology was accelerated ahead several hundred years and potions and antidotes were developed to completely eradicate diseases such as HIV, Influenza, and even the terrible Ebola that is apparently rampant throughout a continent called Africa.

All of this was accomplished in a matter of mere months. Of course during this time, the Lilium conducted various experiments on me to figure out my unusual physical structure, especially since my molecular and waveform patterns were 99.89% identical to the Lilium's own physical structure. This is probably why I looked "human" to them; if I had the right clothing, I would pass for one of them without a second glance...

I guess... That's probably why I met Misato in the first place; I looked like a male Lilium. Perhaps she was lonely and wanted a companion to talk to, or perhaps she felt out of place being the only child on the expedition. Or maybe she was still dealing with the trauma of her mother's recent death and the subsequent rejection of her father... I might never know, since I felt that it was important to respect her privacy. After all, it was her business, not mine...

I remember our first encounter just like yesterday...

She had been chased around half of the complex because she was in a classified area. But she couldn't understand this restriction because she was a small child that was just lost, and all the guards did was frighten her and cause her to run deeper into the complex, until she came upon the laboratory I was being held in. Gendo had been present at the time and had loudly told off the guards for entering a classified area.

Gendo had met Misato before and had known she was too young to know the significance of what I was, so he made a deal with her, that as long as she didn't tell anyone what was in the laboratory, he would arrange an I.D. card for her so she could enter the laboratory whenever she wanted to, whatever an I.D. card is, I'll never know... I guess being spoiled with DNA scans for clearance would have that sort of affect, much like those VCRs that they mention from to time…  Lilium certainly are primitive creatures…

She in a way became Gendo's assistant, although that isn't exactly accurate since she didn't really help him, she just told me about what the rest the world was like. I was curious about the places she told me about, like Japan, Kyoto, Tokyo, Asia, etc. so she would tell what was there, what it looked like, the foods there (foods that were much better than the Intravenous fluid that fed nutrients directly into my body), the tastes, the smells, and the people. Although she could only tell me these things to the level of a twelve to thirteen year-old girl, I still found it interesting and it filled my infinite curiosity somewhat.

Gendo often took part in these more casual conversations and aided Misato when she didn't understand my question, or help answer my questions, like showing me maps and such things. Together, we would talk for hours, about everything we knew of and thus we each grew mentally and emotionally, and became as Misato put it; "family." Gendo preferred to use the word, "friends", but Misato stubbornly said that we were like a family, able to talk about anything and that Gendo was like the father she never had. I could tell Gendo was touched by this, and made a deal with Misato that once he got married, he would try to adopt Misato. I was easily confused by their conversation and decided to take a nap while they continued about the years to come...

But unfortunately, all good times come to an end, and that's exactly what happened when the Lilium found the one thing that I carefully never had mentioned in my conversations with Gendo and Misato. It had come to my attention when Gendo mentioned it as I asked about the outside world, like I commonly did. However, as soon as Gendo mentioned an enormous object buried deep within the ice cap, my fears were confirmed. Gendo and Misato had noticed my unusual body language, and asked me what was wrong which I promptly refused to answer.

However, when Misato mentioned that my readings had begun to go "all crazy and scribblely," Gendo immediately grew suspicious and asked politely what it was, and I politely refused. Misato then asked what it was with her typical curiosity and my stubbornness to not answering Gendo's questions began to crumble. By the end of the day they had exhausted me significantly with their combined efforts, but I still wouldn't tell them what was wrong. For a day, they interrogated me and I continued to not answer, but finally in exhaustion my fortitude at last collapsed...

I finally answered their question to what the object was... a monster; no word could describe it better. This monster was unfortunately... my one sole companion when I was literally thrown into the planet so many years ago...

I then told them how to obtain the information that would help them prevent that which I had worked to prevent... Total Annihilation, the fiery Apocalypse, the true Armageddon, and the chilling end of the world...

They had less than a week to find it before the traitors to the Lilium would begin the process of destroying the world.... They found it and Gendo tried to allow Misato to leave with him before it was too late. But Katsuragi was too stubborn to allow Misato to leave; he thought the experiment would show how important his work would be to the future to his daughter. Unfortunately for him, his stubbornness would mean his death...

Gendo left the day before the experiment, while Misato was forced to stay behind in Antarctica. After Gendo left that day, Misato spent the rest of the day talking with me to help work off her anger at her father. I did my best to help her, but several scientists placed my containment tank onto a mobile platform and took me away. Unable to communicate with Misato I panicked and began to strike the container in order to free myself and succeeded in making a large crack where my fist impacted upon the transparent barrier.

The scientists reacted by activating pacification electrodes in the tank, electrocuting me and knocking me unconscious. As I lost consciousness, I can remember Misato's screams as the scientists tried to restrain her, and keep her away from me like I was some sort of monster...

Even today, I still find that quite unsettling...

My next conscious thought was finding myself yet again within the core of my companion, the last place I wanted to be, regardless of the power that was at my fingertips. Even these outrageously foolish Lilium didn't deserve to know what would happen once they reanimated my companion, especially by trying to use the Lance of Longinus to reanimate my companion, an action that was possibly even more foolish than just activating it by normal means...

However, I could do nothing in my drug induced stupor. Apparently some drugs work on me the same way they worked on the Lilium, although in my case with much reduced affects. And then they began the experiment of placing the two tips of the lance onto the chest. However, the monster reanimated itself the instant the lance touched its armor and with a maddening howl of lust... It went berserk...

In an explosion of power, a fireball the size of Texas incinerated half of the scientists present in Antarctica. And once the reaction began, there was no stopping it. In the middle of the fireball, was the golden form of a God-on-Earth... With a vengeance...

The monster then released its stored power in two pairs of golden dragon like wings, announcing the advent of the hell to come...

Mere seconds after the impact, the southern tip of South America, up to the southern borders of Brazil had become submerged by a wave of water five miles high. Meanwhile, India was torn from Southern Asia and sucked under the waves of the Indian Ocean as the tectonic plates shifted. In Africa, volcanoes erupted around the southern edge of the continent as the rising waters of the Mediterranean and Red Seas engulfed the Saharan Dessert. In Europe, parts of the coastal areas were claimed by the rising waters of the sea, as a result of the impact in Antarctica.

In Australia, the Outback was flooded by the Indian Ocean, while miraculously, the Eastern Metropolitan areas were left untouched. In North America, every island in the gulf was claimed by the sea, while thousands of square kilometers of the Missippian River Basin was flooded. Meanwhile, the tectonic plate that the eastern coast rested upon tore in two, releasing a band of Volcanoes along the smoky mountains towards the Florida Keys. Meanwhile the Rockies soared to new unprecedented heights as the tectonic plates crammed together, with the only way to go being up, whereas the Himalayas were torn in two as a result of India's detachment from Asia.

In a matter of hours, the Mediterranean Sea engulfed as far south as the Sahara, to as far north as the Black Sea and as far east as Iran, bringing the main religious centers of three of the largest religions of the world to the bottom of the Sea. In China, rivers flooded taking half of the land of China underwater. In the Panama, a canal was no longer needed since southern North America was also swallowed by the relentless waves. Later, half of the Russian Siberia became nothing more than an attachment of the Arctic Ocean. And Finally, Antarctica was reduced to nothing more that a sea of red with occasional glaciers, and a few small islands that escaped the rising waters and the impact.

Later... I would learn that the U.N. released a press-statement saying that half of the planet's people had died that day. But like many things, such as the cause of Second Impact as it became to be known, that was a lie... Closer to two thirds of the planet's inhabitants died, many not knowing why they died, or that they even died, as the waves engulfed their homes, drowning them in their sleep...

And I... I was at the center of it all, and yet I lived...

Reduced to nothing more than an embryo, I would be discovered again by the recently married Gendo Ikari since I was in the exact place that he had expected me to be in with the information I had given him. Apparently unscathed by Second Impact, he had married, changed his name, and was even going to have a child soon... Unfortunately, Misato who was also on the ship had faired worse and had experienced severe mental trauma and had become mute... I'm sorry to say it's my fault, but if I hadn't acted the way I did... No one would have survived Second Impact...

My companion, who was also picked up, was missing its legs, and its body was now free from the Armor that was once part of its being...

Unfortunately... Second Impact was not the end, but just a beginning for Hell on Earth...

For the time of Judgment was coming, and unfortunately for the Lilium... This time I wouldn't be able to save the world...

But I was able to help, for as a result of nearly destroying my body, I had given several Lilium the Gift that would be needed in the time to come... And to aid these Children, I had also given them the tools that would aid them, and in time... They will gain the knowledge on how to use their Gift and their tools...

For now... I can only wait patiently for my time to come... For I know I am the first...

And unfortunately for them... I am also the last...

End Prelude, To Be Continued...

Finishing Notes: And so the story begins. Anyways, I would love to hear what you think about this Prelude, but keep in mind that the speaker is because later it'll prove to be important. Second, all chapters following this one (for the most part) will be in the third person. Third, as I said at the top, please review once your done reading, because I need as much input as possible, and on the note of characters, the new ones will just be support characters and will not be the focus of the story. They'll only be in the story to make things more realistic and also to give more life to the main characters as a whole by means of human contact.

Until we meet again, Dark-Titan out.

Version 1 Completed 12/31/03

Version 2 Revisions 1/28/04

Version 3 Pre Read Revisions 2/15/04


	2. Chapter 01

Disclaimer: See Prelude. 'Nuff Said!

Author's Note (Please Read for Your Benefit): Continuing from the prelude, I think I need to make amends to a few issues. First off on the pilots, do not expect them to be used in the way you were expecting, because in the second half of the story (where the real plot comes in) I'll have numerous surprises in store for you.

Second, although having additional Eva pilots are helpful, what I desperately need are people like technicians, pilots (not saying for what XD), soldiers, doctors (a big one), computer specialists, spies, hackers, waiters and waitresses, etc. Trust me, I'm going to need a large cast of people for this story and of a great variety, male and female, and just figuring out how to do some of the actions, what words to use to describe things can be a little difficult with the detail that I like to write with. Worse comes to worse, I'll just ask for people to make up names for me...

Third, with the speaker of the prelude I have this to say, it's not someone you're expecting it to be, but like everything else, that will be resolved later. Also as I said in the prelude, the Angels will be different in function, basic appearance, order that they appear, and various other things. But I'm going to stress the fact that this story is an Alternate Universe/Reality, so expect the unexpected (but don't waste too much thought or you'll give yourself a headache).

Forth and final, is that I would like to express my gratitude to those reviewers that were brave enough to review my story, and especially the person who sent me Jason Well, since he's going to be my first Guinea Pig so to speak. Also I would like to thank thubar2000 and deer hunter, who I've been reading their own stories for a while, and I am glad that they were able to take the time to read my little prelude. And finally for the last three, I hope you continue reading!

Anyways, enjoy the story!

Rise of the Titans: Chapter 1: Return of the Angels

In the year 2015 AD...

For kilometers along the shorelines of Japan, row upon row of large battle tanks lay in wait. Etched into the sides of the tanks are the flags of numerous nations across the world, and the insignia of the United Nations Combined Army. Amongst the tanks, hordes of soldiers run between tanks, making last minute preparations for the onslaught to come...

Regardless, of the chaos on the ground, it could have been a peaceful day. The sun is shining... A few clouds drift slowly across the sky and the trees by the sea sway with the cool wind... Several sea birds even rest on the barrels of some of the tanks.

The peace is soon disturbed by a massive shape that silently approaches the shore from under water. The object slowly swims towards the shoreline, oblivious of what lies in wait before it. At first the object looks like nothing more than a large whale, but as a rises closer to the surface, two narrow objects behind it become apparent...

ERNNN!!! ERNNN!!!

WOOOooo!!! WOOOooo!!!

The coastline becomes riddled with alarm sirens that howl with the calm wind, altering it into an explosive roar...

ERNNN!!! ERNNN!!!

WOOOooo!!! WOOOooo!!!

From some unseen loudspeakers, a male voice shouts, "The target has been detected off the shore of sector 37 of Japan. All soldiers, report to your battle stations! I repeat, all soldiers, report to your battle stations! This is not a drill..."

Along the coastline, tank crews scramble for their tanks, and those that don't dive into tanks run towards the artillery batteries that lie on the hills. Within seconds, the combined might of the world's armies begin to unleash their deadly firepower, causing the water to explode into the air. A command is released to cease the attack, and blissful silence ensues...

Until the shadow attacks...

As the massive explosions spiral towards the sky, two perpendicular flares burst from the explosions. With the flares, the explosions take the form of blue tinged white crucifixes over three kilometers in height and almost a kilometer in width. Twenty-one crucifixes line Japan's coastline, hailing the arrival of the Messenger from God...

The same twenty-one crucifixes were also what bid farewell to the twenty-one tank divisions that perished to make way for God's Third Messenger...

0_o

On the streets of the city, a blue sports car winds down the streets...

Inside the car, the driver concentrates on driving, while at the same time manipulating the GPS placed to the left of the steering wheel.

"Damn it! Why did I have to lose him at a time like this! I was supposed to arrive at the station and pick him up from there, but of course the trains were closed off, so now I have to find the station that he got off at!" The woman fumbles with her GPS for a few moments and a red dot begins to beep. "A hah! There he is! I'll have to thank Ritsuko for putting a tracking devise on his ID card once I get back..."

In the front passenger seat next to the woman is a picture of a boy in a black uniform. Most noticeable about the boy is his dirty brown hair and dark blue eyes that  are almost a dark gray. Underneath the picture is the simple phrase, "Shinji Ikari, Third Child."

XD

In a nearby telephone booth, the very boy from the picture is listening to the recorded message of, "We're sorry, but due to the state of special emergency, all telephone lines are currently shut down for military purposes... This is a recording..."

The boy, Shinji Ikari placed the phone back onto the receiver and sighed, "Huh? The phones' are out of service..." Shinji then picked up his bag and shouldered it and looked at his watch on his left wrist. He's dressed in blue slacks, a white button up collar shirt, and underneath that he has a plain blue T-shirt. He's of average height, but is on the skinny side physically, but doesn't look at all like a "geek" or a "dork" as some might put it...

As he looks at his watch and then with a moment of indecision he looks up again and thinks out loud, "This is dumb, why did I even bother coming here..."

Shinji then pulls out two photos from his pocket, both of the same person. The pictures are of a young woman in her twenties, with purplish black hair and dark hazel eyes. On one picture, it shows the women in a black one piece dress, that clings to her well endowed form, and on it is written, "Heya Shinji! Meet me at-", but unfortunately the rest of the message is blotted out by what looks like water blotches. In the other picture is a picture of the same women, only bent down to show the top of her breasts, with a small arrow in some red ink pointing at it saying, "Take a look at this!" Also on the picture is some red lipstick from a kiss mark, and a heart that has written under it, "Misato Katsuragi."

Shinji continues to look around blankly, and readjusts his bag as he observes the lifeless streets of the city, with the few occasional abandoned cars. But other than these cars, the streets are completely devoid of life, human or other, making Shinji even more uncomfortable standing outside alone. 'Maybe I should go look for a shelter', Shinji thought as he readjusted his bag again as his nervousness increased steadily.

As he surveyed his surroundings, his eyes took notice of something unusual to his left, and soon his eyes focused, on a figure... The figure seemed to be shrouded in both darkness and light, and looked as if it were wrapped around a blood red orb to Shinji. But Shinji was too far away to get a good look at its face. However, the one thing he could pick out was the figure's silvery hair and two glowing red eyes... Just as he was about to go up to the figure, a large flock of birds distracted him for a moment, and by the time he had looked back, both had disappeared... For a moment, his right hand remained outstretched towards where the figure had been, but it soon dropped to his side in disappointment.

Suddenly, an enormous shockwave knocked him off his feet as a sonic boom passed overhead, followed by several missiles spiraling through the streets. The noise was enormous, causing Shinji to cover his ears while the sonic boom faded. In the distance, footsteps "warned" Shinji of the enormous form that emerged from the nearby mountain ridge...

BaKoom!!! BaKoom!!!

BaKoom!!! BaKoom!!!

Its body, at least a hundred meters tall, was almost entirely black. The body itself was bipedal and somewhat humanoid with a whitish bird like skull serving as a head set almost entirely in the middle of its chest. Along the sides of its chest were several rows of bone like spikes, and similar spikes protruded from its back as well. On its shoulders and hips were white plate-like armor with slits in them, which would occasionally quiver, concealing two pairs of gills. Its legs and arms themselves were long and skinny, making it hard to believe that those skinny appendages could hold up the bulk of its body.

BaKoom!!! BaKoom!!!

BaKoom!!! BaKoom!!!

Extending from the monster's forearms were long black spikes that extended from its elbows. Along the sides of what would have been a human's calves were several more white spikes and on its "knees" were bonelike plates with spikes extending from them like some sort of kneepad. Its hands were three fingered that when opened, created a perfect equilateral triangle, and in its palms were reddish circles. In the center of the monster's chest and surrounded by bonelike spikes, a ruby red orb that faintly pulsated similarly to a heartbeat, sat.  Much like the figure Shinji had seen moments earlier...

BaKoom!!! BaKoom!!!

BaKoom!!! BaKoom!!!

The monster slowly plodded through the mountain ridge as its black empty eyes blinked curiously at the U.N. airborne gun ships as they fired missile after missile at its body, massive explosions decimating the nearby countryside and sending massive clouds of dust and fire into the air, obscuring the monsters body from view...

The U.N. gun ships hovered around the dust clouds, waiting for the monster's next move...

And the monster soon responded by sending out a bluish energy lance straight through the gun ship, sending it hurdling towards Shinji...

And all Shinji could do was cower in fear as he faced certain death...

-_-;

Within a cavernous command center, the effort to defeat the monster, was being orchestrated...

In the center of the command center, is an empty void, filled with nothing more than several semitransparent holograms showing several maps of Tokyo 3 and the surrounding area. In another section of the void is one such hologram, showing a city apparently west of Tokyo 3 as the label on the map says, with a small triangular arrow on the east side of the map pointing towards Tokyo 3 with several numbers and letters. Slowly this map shifts to the east, gradually getting closer to Tokyo 3.

On this map is the label, "Target" which is next to a simple red dot, and is the focal point of the map. Surrounding the dot are dozens of other shapes with labels like, "U.N. 3rd Armored Corps." But slowly these other labels eventually are replaced by an, "Inactive" label, as the mysterious target eliminates the represented troop movement.

On the closer end of the void is a multi-plat formed command bridge, where the center of the activity is. On the top platform are three generals in tan uniforms with the JSSDF emblem on their jackets; listening unenthusiastically as their efforts to defeat the target are denied.

The middle general looks over at one of the male technicians with long hair and black eyes who is stationed in the highest-level platform just below the generals and asks, "Do we have a visual of the target yet Lieutenant Aoba?"

The longhaired man replies, "Yes sir, bringing external feed onto the main screen."

The screen comes on about twenty meters away from the command platforms, which is toward the middle of the void. Just as it comes on, the command center gets the pleasant surprise of watching the target destroy several gun ships with one swipe of its bluish energy lance.

Over the intercom, a disembodied female voice announces, "The fifth armored battalion has been rendered inoperable by the target..."

One of the three generals, the one to the left yells out, "Damn it! Where the hell did our plan go wrong!?"

Right responds with more restraint, "It doesn't make sense, we detected that thing almost a day ago, and somehow that... Thing has destroyed everything in it's path! Its just unstoppable!"

Left replies, "Yes, it seems unstoppable... But anything that can be made can be unmade! Nothing is truly invincible!" He then directs his attention to a man with black hair and black eyes, with of course matching black glasses, "Lieutenant Hyuga! Tell the fifth Armored Gun Ship Squad to scramble and intercept with the cyro-fluid type 3 armaments, and the sixth are to attack with normal armaments!"

The Lieutenant gives a quick "affirmative" and begins to relay the orders as the three generals begin to talk amongst themselves again.

The right general eyes the left general suspiciously, "And what exactly do you intend to do with the type three armaments... After all, they are entirely worthless against anything inorganic, and thus far, we've concluded that nothing this large, or with these proportions could possible be organic..."

Left just grins, while the middle general remains in a reclining position in his own chair, watching the events unfold. Behind the generals, two men watched the generals' attempts at destroying the target. One of the two standing next to the other whom is seated at a desk hunched forward with his elbows braced on the desk, and with his fingers intertwined beneath his nose forming a bridge for him to hide his mouth from view.

This man is dressed in a black uniform, with the jacket unbuttoned, showing a red long sleeved turtleneck shirt underneath the jacket. On the jacket there is gold embroidery and a green jade like ornaments on the jacket's cuffs, and a similar button-like ornament on the left side of the jacket, just below the bottom of the collar of the jacket. His hair is brown and sports a well-trimmed beard from side burns to chin, but strangely no mustache to go with it. And finally to round out this man's rather unusual version of a uniform is a pair of reddish-orange reflective glasses, which rest upon his nose, making it hard to tell what his natural eye color is…

The other man, however, is standing behind the seated one and sports a typical tan uniform that characterizes the majority of the staff in the command center. But unlike the majority of the people, this man is at least in his mid to late fifties... Regardless of his gray hair, he stands tall, watchful as a hawk, at the activities of the command center, much like the seated man. But the seated man also seems to have an air of indifference that hangs like death's sickle; which makes many want to avoid the seated man at almost any cost...

Finally the standing man speaks, just a volley of missiles strike the target on the main screen in front of them. "Do you think it's using an AT Field like we predicted?"

A muffled reply answers, "Yes, otherwise any chance of it successfully completing its purpose would be neigh but impossible..."

The standing man grins slightly, "Yes, so any sort of conventional weapon is worthless against it?"

Again, the seated man replies calmly, "Yes, but chances are that the AT Field isn't its only defense against the U.N.'s gun ships..."

Meanwhile, the target's eyes flare up, releasing a monstrous crucifix of energy on an advancing group of artillery, taking several of the gun ships down as well. "I see your point... So what do you expect the JSSDF to do once they wise up?"

The seated man doesn't respond for a few moments, but the same emotionless reply answers, "They'll probably drop an N2 Mine thinking that'll destroy the target, but all it'll do is buy us some time..."

The standing man seems startled by this and turns towards the seated man, "What do you mean give us time? We don't have any operational Evas, more or less a combat worthy pilot. Rei is in no condition to fight..."

"Irrelevant," came the cold reply, "A spare is being delivered as we speak, he will pilot Unit One..."

Baffled, the standing man asks, "Unit One? Impossible... Not even Rei can start it yet, more or less any new pilot you may bring in... Unless..."

"Yes. The Third Child will pilot it, and as long as everything goes according to plan... We might just live another few weeks at least..."

"So this means-"

"Yes," interrupted the seated man and quickly continued, "The time has come... The Angels are back..."

And at that very instant, the "Angel" turned its face towards the camera, almost making it seem like the Angel had heard the seated man say its name...

*_*

Shinji Ikari could do nothing more than cover his eyes and cower as the gun ship served towards him. An explosion threw him off his feet and onto his butt as his arms covered his face. By the time he could open his eyes, the gun ship had served to the left of him and crashed into a nearby street...

Shinji yelped as a few small shards of shrapnel took glancing blows at his body, leaving several cuts on his arms, his legs and a couple of small ones on his torso. His bag wasn't as lucky as a large piece of shrapnel nearly cut the bag in half as the explosion threw him back. 'Better it than me,' Shinji thought as he rummaged through the bag looking for anything that wasn't destroyed. Thankfully, his SDAT player wasn't damaged, and the same went for its memory cards, in addition to a few other things, but unfortunately anything larger than apiece of paper, other than before mentioned things, were torn in half...

'On that note...' Shinji began sorting through the bag again looking for the one main reason he was in this battlefield in the first place...

Shinji pulled out a folded piece of paper that was covered in black marks that signified censored parts, but in the bottom right part of the paper, the only two words that were not censored were "COME!" which was in large bold letters and "Gendo" which was underlined by some sort of marker, probably a sharpie.

'Why did I come here?' thought Shinji as his hands began to clench into fists, as a result of a terrible anger that lay0 within his very core. Shinji soon suppressed the anger and hastily refolded the paper and put it with his smaller bag. As luck would have it, the larger bag Shinji was carrying came with a smaller bag, which was usually inside the main bag, and thus far Shinji had never used it, but that soon changed thanks to that piece of shrapnel. 'He probably wouldn't call for me unless he needed me for something...' Shinji thought glumly as he shifted through the large bag.

Once Shinji had consolidated his possessions, he looked over the pieces of rubble that had come from a nearby building destroyed by a stray missile. Shinji surveyed the apparently abandoned city, only to see that the monster he had observed earlier was now trudging around the city, occasionally leaning forward, its enormous black eyes "blinking" a few times and then standing back up and trudging through the city some more.

'That's odd... What's that... Thing... Doing? It's almost like it's looking for some-' Shinji's thoughts was soon interrupted when several gun ships flew overhead, causing Shinji to run like hell as the monster started moving closer towards his hiding place...

Other gun ships gathered around the monster and began attacking with renewed vigor, but the monster merely held up its arms and fired a purplish colored energy lance from the palm of its hands; quickly cutting through the gun ships. However, several new gun ships that had different markings than the others flew in and fired their payload of significantly larger missiles. The missiles exploded releasing a blue gaseous mist over the arms of the monster.

Once the mist had dissipated, the sheen of blue ice crystals reflected the sun, showing that the monsters arms had been completely frozen solid... The monster turned its face, directing its eerie black eyes towards its arms, and its eyes blinked...

Then its eyes blinked again...

The monster blinked again, and then the monster "inflated" its arms, causing them to swell to at least five times their normal size, breaking off the ice crystals with a considerable lack of effort... The monster then turned its attention on the retreating gun ships, and then unleashed another massive cross shaped explosion, destroying the gun ships and half of the city Shinji was in, causing him to be hurled from his feet, and carried by the shockwave. Slammed against the ground Shinji to gasped in pain as his the air was thrown out of his lungs.

Fortunately, Shinji was soon greeted by blissful unconsciousness, and with it Shinji's last thought was, 'At least I won't have to feel any more pain...'

Fortunately for Shinji, a blue sports car pulled up beside his prone form, just as unconsciousness overwhelmed him and sent him into a pain-induced slumber...

^_*

"God damn it! I already told you, the JSSDF jammed all transmissions, so the transmitter couldn't get through! And don't give me that 'Our technology shouldn't be affected by it, because...'" Yelled a very flustered Misato Katsuragi into her cell phone as she tried to explain her predicament to the person on the other side of the phone.

Laying back in the front seat to Misato's left is an unconscious Shinji Ikari, his head covered in messy blood stained bandages. His formerly white button up shirt, now stained with sticky blood and opened down the front shows bandages that have apparently replaced his blue undershirt, which lies balled-up in his lap. Next to Shinji laid a white box with a red cross on top, opened and displaying its contents of numerous spools of bandages, tweezers, pins, and several other items that most people would blanch at having to put into another human being.

"...And no he's not dying okay, so you won't have to deal with giving him open heart surgery, or something like that so calm down Ritsuko," Misato continued to listen to the person on the other side of the line for a moment with a slight frown, but then it was replaced by a look of utter surprise. "What!?" yelled Misato, "Hold on a second damn it! You mean to tell me that you're going to try and get him to pilot Unit One?! It took Rei over half a year before she could even move a finger on Unit Zero! And after that recent accident we can't even let her pilot, and you expect Shinji to pilot it!? He probably doesn't even know what an Eva is and chances are he'd have a heart attack at seeing the thing!?"

Misato's tirade was cut off as the person on the other end of the line began yelling with a distinctly female voice. Misato's eyes widened for a second as she renewed her tirade, "What do you mean letting personal matters get in the way of my job!? Just because he's my little brother it doesn't mean that it's getting in the way of my judgment! What I can't understand is why you can't use some common sense!"

Again Misato is interrupted when a different voice comes onto the line and her eyes blink in surprise. "Sir? You mean to tell me that you want him to pilot?" Misato pauses again as a small hint of anger crosses her face for a moment, "Yes Sir, I understand... Captain Katsuragi out..." Grumbling to herself, Misato dumbly hung up the phone up and limply sat it down on the middle consol next to the GPS.

Misato turned her eyes back to the road with concern etched into her features, but they all centered themselves around one thought in particular, 'Why Shinji?'

_

In the command center, the staff moved throughout the cavernous room in a whirlwind of activity. On the upper level of the multi plat formed command center, the three generals continued to watch in disdain as the target continued to tear through the combined military of the entire world.

The middle general, far more composed than his two associates leaned back as he watched another cross shaped explosion rip through another column artillery. "Well, what now? Normal missiles have no effect..."

The right general, through clenched teeth replies, "Yes, maybe we ought to stop holding back..."

Left completes the idea and orders, "Ignore the budget, don't hold anything back! Fire all megaton payloads, and give that damned thing everything you got!"

On the main screen, the U.N. gun ships renewed their attack with vigor, distracting the target as a U.N. bomber released an enormous missile at least as large as the bomber itself. The missile surged ahead, yet, the target catches it with one arm and upon impact inflates its arms, stopping the missile with its three-taloned hand, and tearing straight through the middle of the missile, dicing it into three equal sized ribbons. The Angel dropped the shards of the missile onto the ground, resulting in a massive explosion that tore through the countryside like a hellfire.

But, as the flames and smoke cleared, the demonic form of the Angel became visible once again, much to the dismay of the three generals...

A red phone on the generals' desk rang, and the right general slid his keycard through the slot on the phone and then picked it up. "Hello?" The general paused for a moment as he listened to the other side of the line, periodically shaking his head. "Yes sir, I understand. We'll commence with the plan at once."

The right general hung up the phone, as the middle general nodded his head at Lieutenant Hyuga, who immediately began to relay the orders that the general implied...

Behind the generals, the seated man smirked underneath his bridged fingers, while the standing man grinned slightly, "It appears they finally wised up and are finally going to drop the N2 mine."

The seated man said nothing, but continued to watch as the reports from the battle with the Angel continued to stream in while the affirmatives of the bomber carrying the N2 mine began to flow into the reports as well.

The standing man grew slightly uneasy at the lack of response from the seated man, so he pressed another question instead, "So who was on the phone Ikari?"

The seated man, Ikari, remained silent for a moment, but then leaned back a bit and studied the standing man, then leaning forward again, he replied, " It was Captain Katsuragi, Fuyutsuki, she was reporting that the Third Child was injured before she picked him up and was apparently disagreeing with Doctor Akagi about our plans for him, so I intervened..."

Fuyutsuki seemed perturbed by this, "He's injured? How is he supposed to pilot if he's injured? How bad are his injuries?"

Ikari then curtly answered, "Captain Katsuragi said herself that his injuries weren't too serious, so it shouldn't be a problem, at worst, it will do nothing more than set us back a little more than expected..."

Fuyutsuki didn't seem to accept this, but decided not to pursue the matter, "So when are they due to arrive? Ikari?"

Ikari unexpectedly stood up from his desk and began to make his way to a small illuminated floor elevator near the corner of their observation platform and replied, "Now..." Just as the phone rang at the desk.

Ikari made no motion to answer it so Fuyutsuki walked towards it and picked it up. Moments later, he set it down and looked at Ikari, "The Third Child and Captain Katsuragi have just arrived at the express car-train and are due to arrive at the north entrance of Headquarters in ten minutes..."

Ikari nodded as he stepped onto the floor elevator, and small guard railings came up about a meter from the floor and red warning lights flashed on. Ikari then ordered, "Take things from here Fuyutsuki, until I return. Also dispatch a medical team and Doctor Akagi to the north entrance to meet Captain Katsuragi and the Third Child. I will meet them in the Seventh Cage."

Fuyutsuki nodded as Ikari disappeared under the floor, and then mumbled to himself, "Their first meeting in ten years..."

#_#

Doctor Ritsuko Akagi was not in a good mood today. It wasn't waking up on the wrong side of the bed, it wasn't the fact she's only slept about five hours... over the last five days, and it wasn't even the Angel the ravaged Japan ten kilometers above NERV Headquarters and the base of the Geofront...

It was the fact that she had an argument with her best friend Misato Katsuragi, and the fact that she had to leave her work in the Seventh Cage to meet Misato, and the injured Third Child, Shinji Ikari.

The stunning doctor was dressed in a blue one-piece bathing suit, with her typical white lab coat over that, and a pair black deck shoes that she grabbed on her way out of the Seventh Cage... Ritsuko was currently waiting semi patiently for extremely "punctual" Misato at the north entrance, with a small medical team meant for the purpose of shuttling out the Third Child should Misato's accurate be inaccurate.

Her assistant Lieutenant Maya Ibuki, an attractive young woman with brown hair and brown eyes, was currently pacing nervously, her data-pad in hand, looking attentively for Misato's blue sports car. Maya's nervousness was with a cause, for Misato's atrocious driving speeds were practically legend throughout NERV's staff.

A loud screech announced the arrival of the aforementioned blue sports car as it speed recklessly towards the small group at the entrance. "About time..." thought the slightly irritated blonde haired doctor as the car screeched into view. At fifty meters from the group, the car still wasn't slowing down, so the medical team ran for cover from the impending collision. Meanwhile Ritsuko didn't make a move for cover, while Maya just stood behind her, scared stiff.

The blue car then swerved right in front of Ritsuko, with the right side of the car, and the injured occupant of the front passenger seat facing her. Ritsuko calmly opened the door to the car, revealing the injured Shinji to her, since she could see through the dark tinted windows of the car.

"Well, he isn't that bad after all Misato..." Ritsuko calmly stated to Misato, who was dressed in a snug black dress, that hugged her well endowed figure "just right" as Misato would probably put it. Misato took off her black sunglasses and smiled at Ritsuko and the still petrified Maya behind her. Ritsuko turned towards the hiding medical team and stated, "You know, the car isn't moving anymore so it's safe now..."

Misato, who was walking around the car made a face at Ritsuko's comment and replied, "My driving isn't that bad..."

Ritsuko merely smiled, and helped Misato lift the unconscious boy onto a nearby stretcher and then led the small group of people, while Misato dragged the stiff legged Maya, towards the waiting elevator and without looking, locked the doors to her car with her remote which emitted a comical electronic male voice that stated, "I shall guard your steed with my life my Mistress..."

Misato couldn't help but smile as Ritsuko shook her head in exasperation, who then looked up with a frown, "You still have that?"

Misato just nodded, and looked over sadly at her adopted little brother Shinji, and out of the blue stated, "He's grown a lot Ritsuko..."

Ritsuko looked at her like she was crazy for a moment but realization soon followed. Quietly, Ritsuko replied, "Yes, he certainly has grown a lot since I last saw him... About seven years isn't it?" Ritsuko looked over at her old friend Misato to see her gazing at the boy that lay on the stretcher before her. She frowned for a moment and then placed a hand on Misato's shoulder, shaking her out of her revere and assured her, "Look, don't worry Misato, he'll be fine, if anyone can tell you that, it's me right?"

Ritsuko's assurance had the desired affect and Misato nodded and smiled, waiting for the elevator to carry them to the Eva Cages, and to the first meeting of the Ikari's in ten years...

;-)

And so, Misato, Ritsuko, and Shinji descended downwards to the Eva cages. Above them, the "Third Angel" rampaged throughout Japan, searching for something, or someone...

Me...

Unfortunately for the "Angel", I am well over five thousand kilometers to the east of Japan, currently on the U.N.'s "Over the Rainbow" with a fleet of over one hundred ships guarding none other than myself...

Of course, the majority of those composing the fleet think that they're guarding the clone of Lilith's Companion. It even has a pretty red paint job, I always liked red...

But regardless, the only one aware of my presence in the entire fleet is a Lilium by the name of Ryoji Kaji...

Kaji is quite an interesting Lilium, but only because of my limited exposure to the Lilium period. Up till now, he hasn't spoken with me much, but recently we've become better acquainted due to his special status among organizations like NERV. Thankfully, this has given me the chance to learn more of this world that I've become imprisoned upon. Even if it will probably end only confusing me more than I already am about this world. Possibly a "small" side-effect of being an embryo/fetus that is no larger than a small laptop computer for the last decade or so...

Inconvenient for me, but travel friendly for Mr. Kaji as he puts it...

So odd these Lilium are, most preferring to be called by their individual name, whereas he prefers to be called by his family name. Most interesting, he probably told me once, but I can't remember, I don't retain too much at the conscious level, I mostly remember things subconsciously, so once I've been returned to my true form, I'll be able to recall them, but that'll have to wait...

Recently, our conversations have been limited due to the Fourth Child, and her childish infatuation with Kaji; hopefully she'll eventually grow out of it...

Recently, I've also been distracted in my conversations with Kaji since I've had to focus a great deal of my consciousness in watching over the Third Child, so I'll often stop paying attention to Kaji. Somehow, he might have sensed me on the subconscious level as I was withdrawing from my contact with him. But it's unimportant for him to know about me, he'll probably just dismiss my presence as a mirage and forget about it. It wouldn't be good for him and the rest of the Children to know about me yet anyway... I'm currently waiting however for the much anticipated first battle of Tokyo-3, where as I had instructed Ikari, would be fought using the Third, and the clone of my companion...

The only thing that I can wonder is...

How soon will the Children's gifts take to manifest and eventually mature...

Then again, time will tell, but for now I must be patient...

And hope my gifts don't become my curse...

End Chapter 1, To be Continued...

Post Chapter Notes

I'm sorry about the wait, but this chapter took about two weeks longer than expected, but it's long so that make up for it right? Also I don't know that many people that can write over 5000 words for their first chapter, starting Episode 1, and still not even get to the Ikari's meeting and what not, but then again, I did add a lot more stuff, but oh well...

In addition to that, I don't intend to describe things as thoroughly later one unless I'm introducing someone new (like Rei and Asuka, or the Evas). So once I've introduced something, I'll just hope you remember the changes I make to it, or you can just forget and get confused... 

Just kidding...

Anyways, the next update ought to be two to four weeks away, so please be patient with me now that school has started, and the full force of my school projects begin to kick in, starting with the History Fair, and probably more will come up along the way...

Pre Reader Notes (I decided to include this for the Reader's benefit.  Some has been removed or changed in the process though.)

Hey, I finally pulled myself together and read this through. And what a read! I had forgotten it was 9000 words long! (For both the Prelude and Chapter One)  Anyway, the story is fine, although it's a bit hard for me to say anything much, as you can imagine, since Dark-Titan haven't revealed much yet. I hope you're comfortable with the corrections I've made, if not then don't hesitate to tell me. I hope I've been of help to you. 

One more thing, I am counting on your reference of Asuka as the fourth child is intentional, otherwise, you better change it. 

That's it for now, Anwa Elda out…

Cheers

Post Revision Author Notes

Overall, the corrections were fine, but I ran a grammar check, so some things aren't exactly as Anwa Elda had it.  And, if you haven't figured it out yet, Anwa Elda is my new Pre Reader for this story.  So if your interested in being a Pre Reader, let me know in your review.  Also, on the topic about Asuka being the Forth, that's entirely intentional, and you'll know what I mean once Rei has been introduced to the story, in addition to the other pilots (like the Second Child, whom you the readers won't get to see for quite some time.)  I hope you guys like the revisions, and I'm off to get back to Chapter Two, "Awakening the Beast."

Till we meet again, Dark-Titan, out.

Version 1 Completed 1/25/04

Version 2 Revisions 2/3/04

Pre Read Revisions 2/15/04


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